Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 1266 Defense of Stalingrad
After a pause, Zhukov continued: "Now I think the best way is for the troops to continue to defend and wait for the arrival of reinforcements or changes in the situation. Although our ammunition is almost exhausted and casualties are heavy, but, We still have the strength to last for 12 weeks. The reason why the Supreme Commander, Comrade Stalin called me back, I think there may have been a certain victory over there, or the Chinese were held back. As long as we are launching a counterattack, then the Dragon Army is bound to come from Draw troops in other directions. And the Dragon Army in the Stalingrad area may be the first to be drawn, as long as their troops are drawn away, your pressure will be reduced. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes, I understand!" Huo Jin replied quickly.

Zhukov wanted to say something more, but the hatch of the observation deck of the submarine was opened, and a naval officer in a black cloak came out, and then shouted to everyone on the shore: "Comrade General, the time is up. If If we don't leave, it may be difficult to break through the Chinese blockade."

Zhukov sighed heavily, then shook hands with Khozin and Zhdanov, "Take care!"

"Take care, Comrade Zhukov!" Hozin and Zhdanov replied in unison.

Zhukov slowly pulled his collar, then turned around abruptly, and the submarine rushed up three steps at a time, and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.A lot of waves suddenly appeared around this huge black monster, and it slowly drove away from the pier.

At 7:25 am on July 3, the first wave of the Dragon Army began to cross the Neva River.Waves lapped gently against the bow, and the blades of the oars creaked.On the wide river, the crisp sound of rifle shooting and the roar of explosions sounded far and wide.However, the Soviet artillery, mortars and machine guns near the shore did not move.

The Soviet army still reacted quickly, when half of the first wave of assault troops reached the opposite bank.The artillery fire of the Soviet army began to shift its target.From time to time, a huge water column rose from the center of the river, drenching the people on board.Soon there were stunned fish floating on the water, their silvery white belly glistening.A Finnish fleet gunboat took a direct hit, killing all twenty men on board.As if mountaineers never looked down, some stared down at the water beside the boat, trying not to look at the far bank.Others kept observing the burning buildings on the South Bank, their helmeted heads instinctively tucked into their chests.They are entering a picture of hell.

As night fell, on the towering river bank, the outlines of some tall buildings were clearly outlined by the raging fire, casting strange and unpredictable shadows.The night sky is full of burning sparks.

The charred wreckage of machinery and ships littered the shore, making a mess of the river bank in front of me.The closer you get to shore, the stronger the stench of burnt buildings and rotting corpses in the ruins.

The first assault troops did not immediately use their weapons. Instead, they mounted their rifles with bayonets, jumped from the sides of the boats into the shallow water beside the river, and rushed up the steep sandy bank.One of the landing sites was only about 100 meters away from the Soviet army.All the Dragon Army soldiers present knew very well that the longer they stayed, the faster they would die.

Fortunately, the Soviets on the first outer line of defense did not have time to dig trenches or prepare positions.After the soldiers of the Dragon Army rushed ashore, they immediately launched a fierce attack on the Soviet position, and wiped out the enemies in this area with brutal close combat.

After the arrival of the second echelon, the reinforced infantry regiments continued to advance to the edge of the railway line on the Petergov Heights.

After the first wave of assault troops crossed the river, the Soviet troops responded immediately.Although Zhukov has left.However, Lieutenant General Huo Jin, who replaced him, was not a mediocre person. After the initial judgment, he immediately mobilized troops from his reserve team to the high ground, because Huo Jin knew very well that the number of Dragon Army soldiers crossing the river now was not enough. not many.Although they occupied the first position, most of the positions on the high ground are still in his hands. Now, his only worry is that a large number of dragon troops will land and build a new pontoon bridge here, then everything will be bad.Therefore, as long as the Chinese are eliminated in front of the position, the entire defense line will not be broken through.So in addition to ordering the troops to continue to defend the position, he also mobilized all the artillery troops. At this time, Huo Jin's purpose was very clear, to block the Neva River and prevent the follow-up troops of the Dragon Army from crossing the river.

On the other side of the Neva River, Pu Yin can clearly observe the enemy's every move at the observation port only 500 meters away from the ferry.The heavy artillery of the Long Army also began to speak. Rows of shells flew towards the opponent's position with a shrill howl, and soon huge columns of smoke rose from the opponent's position.After the artillery fire was ready, the various regiments of the second wave began to prepare to cross the river. The infantry jumped out of the dug positions one by one, carrying weapons and equipment on their shoulders. At this moment, the silent opposite bank suddenly became agitated, and shells landed on the road ahead of the soldiers of the Dragon Army, and exploded in the grass on both sides.When the soldiers of the Dragon Army began to approach the steep slope of the Neva River bank, the artillery fire from the opposite side stopped abruptly.

The cold night finally passed, and another bright morning ushered in.When the bridging column began preparations for entering the position, the soldiers of the 22th Assault Company of the 18nd Airborne Infantry Division had already prepared assault boats and rubber rafts. Now their task was to cross the Neva River as soon as possible, and the reinforcements were fighting there. The first wave of troops, and help engineers build pontoon bridges, as long as a bridge is built over the river, then all heavy weapons, including tanks, can cross the river in time.

At 10 o'clock in the morning of the same day, the competition around the Neva River Ferry was still going on, and the Soviet army invested here an elite unit "Stalingrad Student Brigade", which is the most elite reserve team of the Soviet army.The majority consisted of students of the Petersburg Military Academy.The combat literacy of this unit is relatively high, and its fighting will is relatively tenacious, which tossed the troops of the Dragon Army quite hard.

When the third wave of troops landed, they encountered a lot of trouble.When the commander of the landing wave was preparing to cross the river on a rubber inflatable raft, a mortar shell exploded not far from him, and the fragments mercilessly punctured his artery.Soon he died.affected by this situation.The third wave of crossings was forced to be postponed.

By the afternoon of the day, new troops continued to arrive at the ferry.Their task was to protect the entire flanks of the 22nd Mechanized Infantry Division from being attacked by Soviet counterattack forces crossing the river.On the other side, after unremitting efforts, the Dragon Army finally transported the third wave of infantry to the other side of the river.This force is mainly composed of the 3rd Battalion of the 22nd Infantry Division.

With the continuous addition of Dragon Army troops, the Soviet Army's resistance in the riverside area is gradually weakening.The bridgehead of the Dragon Army continued to grow stronger.Later in the day, the officers and soldiers of the troops had captured the first and second lines of defense established by the Soviet army and began to advance towards the forest area ahead.Although many of them were exhausted and thirsty, many fell behind, and many others fell halfway due to excessive physical exhaustion.Most of these troops came from the 2nd Battalion that crossed the river in the second wave.However, the battalion will not stop his footsteps because of such a small matter.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the third wave of the Dragon Army began to attack the Soviet Army. The main target of their attack was around an inconspicuous building complex near the high ground.Near this small concrete village known by the Chinese as the Augustov district.The troops of the Dragon Army and the troops of the Soviet Army launched a series of fierce battles.In just a few hours, the area has changed hands several times.

The fighting made decisive progress that evening.The bridge-building work finally broke through.Engineers successfully completed the first bridge before nightfall. A minute later, the first military truck loaded with soldiers drove across the bridge, followed by the second, and the third, accompanied by a large number of reinforcements and infantry.

Now, the Dragon Army has finally broken through the Neva River, and victory is getting closer and closer to them.

On July 7, the fear of war spread among the thousands of civilians huddled in the catacombs and tunnels of Castle Hill.Father Angolo Rota, assistant to the Holy See ambassador to Stalingrad, later described this nightmare scene: "Although Soviet Russia does not recognize the Holy See and the Red Cross Organization, we are still allowed to enter the city of Stalingrad. We Just across the Victory Square where we assessed the defunct Papal Legation Building which separates this from the Kazan Cathedral. It's a short walk, but what a walk! Next to the Pope's Legation Building is the former Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the current Stalingrad Medical Academy building, and the former Ministry of Defense on the opposite side of the square is also engulfed in flames. Even the Winter Palace has several pillars of fire that are soaring into the sky The square was littered with bomb craters, trenches and wreckage with only flames lighting the way before us. Inside the Winter Palace, every hall and corridor we passed was packed with wounded people, and operations were performed on ordinary tables And there's crying and wailing everywhere and it's hell!"

At the station, south of the Gudenov Hotel, the exhausted defenders were still fighting frantically with the Dragon Army infantry and tanks.In just one day since the dragon army started to cross the Neva River, the fierce battle finally broke into the last major stronghold in the Stalingrad area, the Southern District Railway Station and the area around the palace.

(End of this chapter)